Sports Radio Interviews

The Packers Look to Make It Four in a Row Tonight

When the 6-5 Ravens travel to face the 7-4 Green Bay Packers it looks to be a defensive battle. The Packers are ranked number two in the NFL in total defense and since the Ravens changed to more zone defense at midseason they havenot allowed more than 17 points in a game. The key to the game for the Baltimore Ravens is to keep Green Bay’s explosive offense off the field. They can do that by establishing the run with Ray Rice, Le’Ron McCalin and Willis McGahee. Ray Rice will definitely pose a challenge to the Packers defense with running the ball and catching it out of the backfield as he is number two in the league with combined yards from scrimmage, trailing only the Titans’ Chris Johnson. If they commit to the run, the Ravens should be able to wear down the Packers defense and keep Aaron Rodgers off of the field.

The Packers offensive line will need to protect Rodgers from the blitzing Ravens as they lead the NFL in sacks allowed. If the O-line can allow Rodgers some time to make good decisions with the football, the Packers have plenty of weapons to put some points on the board. Improved blocking, quicker throws from Rodgers and a more solid commitment to the running game have played a pivotal role in a three-game winning streak that has brought Green Bay into playoff contention. In order for the Packers to continue their defensive dominance, they will have to overcome a few injuries to key players like Aaron Kampman and Al Harris who are both out for the season.

Mike McCarthy joined WFAN in New York with Mike Francesa to talk about head coaches having to manage injuries and so many key players in the league hurt, Al Harris being a hard guy to replace, their defense playing well this year, and whether this year’s Ravens defense is the same as old or a little different this year.

On head coaches having to manage injuries and so many key players in the league hurt:

“No question. I think that is clearly that is one of the biggest challenges every team has year in and year out. I know my first two years on the job we didn’t have many major injuries. It has been a challenge the last two years. It is a big part of your planning and it is definitely something that you have to overcome.”

On Al Harris being a hard guy to replace:

“Definitely both Aaron Kampman and now Harris they have both started over 100 games here in Green Bay. They are definitely a big veteran presence here in our locker room. Like you already stated, it is the nature of the National Football League and it is definitely probably one of your biggest challenges that you face as a team every year.”

On their defense playing well this year:

“Yeah we feel good about where we are in that particular area of turnover ratio. We are doing a good job at protecting the football. The quarterback I think only has five interceptions this year and we are handling it on both offense and the return game and our defense is doing a good job at taking it away. It is something that I know everybody stresses and we have incorporated a number of drills in our practice structure and we are definitely seeing the benefits on Sundays.”

On Aaron Rodgers being sacked the most in the league and whether it is Aaron holding onto the ball too long:

“We all teach the quarterback to take sacks but we are not perfect by any means. Protecting the quarterback clearly was not a strength of ours the first eight games of the year. We had a number of different issues whether it was identifying the protection the right way or winning the one-on-one battles in pass protection or the time-clock of the quarterback. We feel like we’ve improved on that the last few weeks. The injuries to the offensive line were part of that, one of the factors involved. It is definitely something that we need to do a good job down the stretch.”

On the team’s goals changing from winning the division to making the playoffs:

“I don’t think so Mike. I think everybody has the same goals at the beginning of the year. As long as you get to the final goal you just need to stay on your own path. I can’t control how well the Vikings are playing. We have had our two opportunities against the Vikings and obviously we didn’t come out on the right side of those two opportunities. We have five good opportunities left and we need to make sure that our win column is as full as possible. The playoff race always takes care of itself and I understand how week to week everybody wants to talk about where you are and so on and so forth. There is a lot of time and energy that goes off in different combinations but we just try to manage and focus on the game in front of us especially when you have an uncommon tough opponent in the Baltimore Ravens.”

Whether this year’s Ravens defense is the same as old or a little different this year:

“I think they are definitely living up to their reputation they have on defense. Number one, they have a very good experienced players that have been in that system for a long time. I think definitely Greg Madison calls a game a little different than Rex Ryan than in the past. I have had an opportunity to look at their game film from last year after the season. It is definitely a good defense that causes problems and will definitely challenge us Monday night.”

Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy talks about the Monday Night game vs. Baltimore on the NFL Now

Tags: Aaron Kampman, Aaron Rodgers, Al Harris injured, Baltimore Ravens, Dom Capers, Green Bay Packers, injuries to key players, Lambeau Field, Mike McCarthy, NFC North, NFL, Ravens vs. Packers